The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Get ready for new Disney Star Wars films.

Disney chairman Robert Iger announced today that his company is buying Lucasfilm, home of the Star Wars franchise, for $4.05 billion. That's about the same amount of money The Mouse House spent on Marvel back in 2010. With The Avengers grossing $1.5 billion at the global box office, that deal is already starting to pay off. Lucasfilm could be another big success story for Disney.

Disney is looking at the massive franchise potential of the Star Wars universe. Star Wars has 17,000 characters living on thousands of planets and, according to the press release, spans 20,000 years. That's a lot of spin-off potential.

A new film is already in the works and slated for 2015 with plans to release a new Star Wars film every two to three years.

Iger said in a statement:

George Lucas is a visionary, an innovator and an epic storyteller – and he’s built a company at the intersection of entertainment and technology to bring some of the world’s most unforgettable characters and stories to screens across the galaxy. He’s entertained, inspired, and defined filmmaking for almost four decades and we’re incredibly honored that he has entrusted the future of that legacy to Disney.

Disney already had a relationship with Lucas through the Star Wars ride at several Disney parks. Lucas recently helped update the ride which is always one of the most popular rides. With the purchase of Lucasfilms, Disney can now use all of its divisions to thoroughly exploit the Star Wars brands. Expect more TV shows, books and merchandise.

[newsincvid id="23865192"]

Lucas already earns about $215 million in merchandise revenue. Disney expects to grow it in years to come. Look for growth in gaming (especially social and online) and on Disney XD. The purchase also gives the studio another firm foothold in boy toys. Before the Marvel purchase Disney's main boy line was Cars. Now it owns one of the biggest merchandise lines of all time.

Lucas will continue as a consultant on the films and Kathleen Kennedy, who recently became co-chairman of Lucasfilms, will stay on as president of Lucasfilms.

Lucas' last three Star Wars films were not popular with hard core fans but they made tons of money at the box office. The Phantom Menace was the highest-grossing (on an unadjusted basis) of all of the Star Wars film bringing in $983 million at the box office. Although Fox has traditionally distributed the Star Wars films, Disney will distribute them now.

Even if Disney doesn't make The Avengers level new movies around Star Wars, plenty of fans (especially younger fans) will flock to the theaters.

The purchase continues Iger's business model of buying companies with great content and incredibly smart, creative people. In 2006, Disney brought Pixar into the fold. The purchase helped the studio produce box office hits like Toy Story 3 ($1 billion) and Cars 2 ($560 million). In 2010 Disney bought Marvel which not only gave the studio The Avengers but upcoming movies like the sequels to Thor and Captain America, future Avengers films and (gulp) Ant-Man. Disney also distributes films from DreamWorks which means the studio is now in business with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Could Disney screw this up? Sure. Star Wars fans tend to be a passionate bunch and they don't like to see their mythology messed with. Plus who wants to see a movie about Jar-Jar Binks or many of the other lesser-known characters in the Star Wars universe?

But considering what a great job Disney has done with Marvel so far, it's safe to assume that this is another very smart move by Iger that's going to drive a lot of money to Disney's bottom line. Iger says the purchase won't increase how much Disney spends on film. Instead the next Star Wars film will be Disney's big 2015 tent pole film. The studio is clearly pleased to have a known and beloved franchise to build on. It's much easier to take an expensive risk on a new Star Wars film than on an unproven story idea.

Lucas has been looking to get out of Lucasfilm for the past 5-6 years with an eye to making smaller, more personal films. He started talking to Disney about having the studio acquire his company last year.